Looking for a place to camp, Kaelis trailed behind Ness and Hael as they cautiously navigated the terrain, their movements sharp and alert, scanning the area for anything unusual. The battle may have been over, but the weight of it still clung to the air, thick and unforgiving.

His thoughts, however, weren’t on their surroundings. They were on the blood—the bodies, the screams, the way his own hands had moved without his command, tearing through flesh like paper.

The memory played on an endless loop in his mind—the raw, uncontrollable fury, the way his body moved on its own, the power that wasn’t his, yet was completely his. The moment the battle had ended, he had snapped back to himself, standing amidst a massacre, drenched in blood that wasn’t his own. It wasn’t like a blur or a haze. It was an absence, like something else had stepped forward, taken the reins, and then handed them back when it was done.

‘What the hell is happening to me?’

He clenched his fists tightly, trying to shake the sinking feeling in his gut. He had been in fights before—back on Earth, before all of this—but this was different. This wasn’t a fight. It was a slaughter.

Before he could spiral any further, a sudden warm weight draped over him, covering his entire body in a feathery embrace.

A soft, dramatic sigh followed.

“Oh, my poor, poor Kaelis,” Hael’s voice cooed in mock concern, her wing dramatically shielding him from the eerie night air. “Are you frightened? Is the big, bad wilderness too much for our delicate human?”

Kaelis blinked, momentarily disoriented, before realizing what was happening. He let out a dry chuckle, stepping away from her wing.

“Buzz off, crow,” he said with a smirk.

Hael gasped, clutching her chest as if he had mortally wounded her. “Such cruelty! After all I’ve done for you! Is this how you treat a lady?”

Kaelis shot her a look. “You’re not a lady.”

Hael grinned. “Oh? Then what am I?”

Before he could respond, Hael suddenly spun in front of him, and in a flash of absurd theatrics, she shifted—her crow form stretching, twisting, molding itself into something else entirely.

With a flair of unnecessary dramatics, Hael transformed into a humanoid figure, feathers weaving into something that was both bird and woman, her form draped in shimmering black plumage, her emerald eyes gleaming mischievously. She struck a ridiculous pose, one hand on her hip, the other gesturing toward herself.

“Well?” she purred, tilting her head. “Does this form suit me best?”

Kaelis immediately looked away, his face twitching with exasperation and disgust. “Nope. Not doing this.”

Before Hael could milk the moment any further, Ness suddenly darted forward.

With zero hesitation, he rolled up a massive bundle of leaves and slammed them over Hael, pinning her feathered, humanoid form to the ground.

Hael let out a muffled cackle, completely unbothered. “Oh nooo, I’m trapped,” she drawled, laughter bubbling beneath her words. “Whatever shall I do?”

“You’ll shut up, that’s what you’ll do,” Ness grumbled, kicking her leaf-wrapped form like a tumbleweed as they walked.

Kaelis snorted. “How do you deal with her all the time?”

Ness sighed dramatically, rolling Hael a little further. “You don’t. You just accept that she exists and hope she doesn’t make your life worse.”

Hael, still wrapped like a burrito, hummed thoughtfully. “I prefer the term ‘blessing in disguise.’”

Ness kicked her again.

Kaelis chuckled, shaking his head before his expression turned more thoughtful. “And..What’s it like being with Espen?”

Ness slowed a little, glancing at him. “What do you mean?”

Kaelis shrugged. “You’ve been with her longer than I have. What’s she like… outside of all this chaos?”

‘I wanna ask what her backstory and stuff is, but that would be too nosey. Gotta be cool for now.’

Both Ness and Hael were quiet for a moment.

Then Hael, still rolling along the ground, sighed dramatically. “She’s snobby.”

Ness nodded. “Very snobby.”

“But,” Hael added, “she’s also special. Our most cherished being is her.”

Kaelis raised an eyebrow. “Special how?”

Ness rolled Hael a little more before answering. “She’s got flaws like the rest of us. She’s not perfect. She’s learning, struggling, fighting—same as you. This fight against the White Brigade? That was her first real fight.”

Kaelis frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

Hael finally burst out of the leaves, shaking herself off as she stretched. “What he means is that for the longest time, Ness and I have been the ones fighting for her.”

Kaelis blinked. “Wait… seriously?”

Ness nodded. “Yeah. Maela enhanced us with her usual creepy magic, making us powerful enough to fight by Espen’s side. But we’re not unstoppable. We’re strong, but only to a certain extent.”

Hael smirked. “And I was just a normal crow before all this. Super boring indeed.”

Kaelis frowned slightly. “And then Maela picked you?”

Hael’s grin widened. “Well… I shoved everyone else out of the way, but yes.”

Kaelis laughed. “Of course you did.”

Hael winked. “Can you blame me?”

Kaelis shook his head in amusement before his gaze turned more serious. “You mentioned Kenda, What exactly is Kenda?”

Ness and Hael exchanged a look before Ness spoke.

“It’s everything.”

“What does that mean?” Kaelis asked.

Hael stretched out her wings. “It’s the force behind all magic in this world! It’s not just energy—it’s woven into existence itself! Every living thing has it. Some people can wield it. Some can’t.”

Ness kicked a rock absentmindedly. “People are born with affinities, tied to a specific element. Fire, water, wind, that kind of thing. Plus over 50 elements of magic. But some people? They’re born with nothing.”

Kaelis tilted his head. “And they’re just… powerless?”

Hael grinned. “Nope. They’re naturally stronger, faster, heightened senses, and tougher than anyone else. No magic, but built like monsters.”

Kaelis frowned. “So it’s either magic or raw power. No in-between?”

Ness hesitated. “Well… some people try to wield more than one affinity through forbidden magic. But it’s dangerous.”

“How dangerous?”

Hael smirked. “Forty percent chance of dying.”

Kaelis whistled. “Nice odds.”

Ness shrugged. “Some think it’s worth the risk.”

Their conversation drifted into silence, the weight of the topic settling over them like an unseen force.

Kaelis glanced at Hael, then Ness. “And what else is there to it all?”

Ness nodded. “Meditation, lad. That’s how people create their own spells. They weave Kenda inside their bodies, but if they push too hard, it can kill them.”

Hael let out a dramatic sigh. “It’s all about control. But let’s be real—most people suck at it.”

Kaelis smirked. “That’s reassuring.”

They continued walking, the conversation lingering in the air like an unspoken promise.

Kaelis had a feeling he was only scratching the surface.

Kaelis walked in silence, his thoughts lingering on everything Ness and Hael had told him.

‘Kenda..A force woven into existence itself. A power that could shape the world, create magic, or even kill if wielded improperly. The idea of weaving magic inside your own body, threading it together through meditation, is… fascinating. Back on Earth, magic was nothing but fiction—something written about in books or shown in movies or some anime. Here? It was the foundation of everything. And I have no idea where I stand in it.’

He had no clue what his place was in this world. He wasn’t born with an affinity, and he sure as hell wasn’t some warrior prodigy. But if Kenda was the key to survival, then he knew what he needed to do.

‘Get stronger. ‘

Strong enough to stay alive long enough to leave this place. Not for protecting others, not just so he can dominate everything, just to leave this world.

‘Would it be out of fear? I can’t live in a world that feels like it wants me dead every five seconds. Espen is a witch, a witch that is being hunted by strong Hunters, and I can’t wield this power properly without letting that bastard on the throne control me. It’s shitty honestly.’

Because no matter how interesting Kenda was, no matter how wild and strange this world seemed, he wasn’t meant to be here.

Then again…

‘Would going back really be better?’

The thought hit him harder than he expected. Back on Earth, he wasn’t exactly thriving. He was drowning, barely keeping his head above water, carrying more weight than he knew how to hold. Here, at least, he had some control over his fate. Back home… it felt like he never did.

He scoffed under his breath.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

It wasn’t about which world was better. It was about getting back to the one that was actually his.

The landscape around them had shifted into something rotten, but there were faint, gasping echoes of what had once been beautiful.

The trees were twisted, their skeletal branches reaching toward the sky like hands frozen in agony. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay, but beneath it, Kaelis could almost imagine how it used to be. The remnants of wilted flowers, long since turned to dust, still clung to the edges of broken stone paths. Crumbling statues, covered in moss and cracks, stood as forgotten sentinels of a time long past.

Then his gaze caught something buried in the dirt.

A massive stone nose, half-hidden beneath layers of time and decay.

It was beautiful—perfectly sculpted, chiseled with divine precision—but now it was cracked, weathered, and covered in rot.

Kaelis exhaled slowly.

‘A god’s face, buried and forgotten.’

Even deities weren’t spared from time’s cruelty.

“Yo, Kaelis.”

Ness’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Kaelis side-eyed him, already expecting some dumb question.

“What’s up?”

“What world are you from?”

Kaelis blinked. “Huh?”

“You’re not from Kalhalla, like you mentioned before,” Ness said. “Where are you from?”

Hael perked up. “Ohh, right! You’re from some other world. That’s still so weird. What’s it like?”

Kaelis ran a hand through his hair. “Earth. A complete OPPOSITE of Kalhalla.”

They both stared at him.

“That sounds…” Ness tilted his head. “Boring.”

Kaelis snorted. “Yeah, it is. That world is nothing but a cycle of the same shit. Unless you do something to change it.”

Hael flapped her wings. “Come on, tell us more. What happens there? Do you have magic? Hunters? Gods?”

“No magic, that crap is considered fairytale there,” Kaelis said. “Only things close to Hunters are literal bounty hunters and hit men, or assassins. Gods? There’s a bunch of religions with different gods so, yeah, there’s that.”

Both of them visibly recoiled.

“You’re joking,” Ness said flatly.

Kaelis shrugged. “Wish I was.”

“So… what do you guys do?” Ness asked.

Kaelis blew out a breath and a grin. “Work. Eat. Sleep. Die. Repeat. All that boring crap. That sick cycle you live by, unless you're rich, or like I said, you make a change yourself.”

Hael gasped like he had just smacked a baby bird out of the sky. “That sounds awful, but it’s like this world too. People gotta make a living.”

Kaelis smirked. “You’re not wrong.”

Ness narrowed his eyes. “Wait. So if there’s no magic, how do you fight wars?”

Kaelis sighed. “Guns. Machines. Technology. Espionage; that sort of thing. At least we don’t have monsters trying to bite our faces off every five seconds.”

Then, Ness looked at him again, this time with a different kind of curiosity. “What about you? What did you do on Earth?”

Kaelis opened his mouth—then hesitated.

His breath hitched, his throat tightening.

‘What am I supposed to say? That I spent most of my time feeling like I was suffocating? That I felt like a ghost in my own life? That I was just… existing? Yeah. No.’

That would be embarrassing.

So instead, he smirked and lied.

“I-I was rich! Yeah! Popular! Famous and Loved by everyone!”

Ness and Hael both squinted at him.

“Really?” Ness asked.

Kaelis shrugged. “Yep. Had at least a billion dollars, made at least a million a day, had my own corporate business, that sort of thing. Please don’t be jealous, nor starstruck.”

Hael grinned. “That explains your attitude.”

Kaelis laughed, but it felt hollow.

As they kept walking, his thoughts gnawed at him.

‘I feel bad for lying. I just described the life I wish I had. Lameeee.’

He wasn’t some damsel in distress whining about his past.

He was going to figure out how to survive this world.

Then, he’d leave it.

Eventually, they found a place to camp.

It was an open clearing, surrounded by the remnants of what looked like an ancient ruin. Crumbling stone pillars stood like fractured bones, the ground uneven but solid enough to rest. The air was still, carrying a faint, whispering wind that rustled through the dead grass.

Ness stretched. “Alright. This should work.”

Hael flopped onto a rock. “Finally. My wings need a break.”

Kaelis scanned the area, taking in the surroundings. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was safe enough.

Or so he thought.

Because that’s when he heard voices.

Excited, eager voices.

“…Finally found a Well Spring! Wait, it’s around here isn’t it?! They said a Well Spring can be heard sounding like harmony, harmony of drifting water. This has got to be it!”

Kaelis turned his head sharply, spotting movement in the distance. Four figures, dressed in strange, colorful garments, were making their way through the ruins, their faces alight with excitement.

One of them laughed. “Do you know how much we can sell this for? Kingdoms would kill for goddess blood samples.”

Another clapped his hands together. “If we tunnel into the Well Spring, we can keep harvesting it endlessly. We’ll be rich.”

Kaelis felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

And then, as if sensing his gaze…

One of them turned.

Their eyes met.

The merchants locked eyes with Kaelis and the group.

The moment Kaelis and the others made eye contact with the merchants, the four of them scrambled into a battle stance—or at least, they tried to.

“Impossible! There’s people here trying to stop us!”

Kaelis tilted his head, saying, “The hell? No we’re not—.”

“Silence! You won’t stop us!”

Their outfits were a chaotic mix of luxurious and absurd, like they had raided the closets of a dozen different cultures and decided to wear everything at once. One of them had a long golden coat covered in way too many buckles, but his pants were so short they barely covered his knees. Another wore a massive feathered hat, but his shirt was ripped and barely held together by a single button. The third had fur-lined boots that looked stolen from a royal palace, but his entire upper half was wrapped in bandages like a mummy. The last one had a perfectly tailored suit, except the sleeves were missing, and his bare arms were covered in random tribal tattoos that didn’t seem to match.

"Hold on, hold on," the one with the feathered hat hissed, adjusting his stance. "You're standing too far to the left! Shift over!"

"No, you shift over!" the man with the golden coat snapped. "I'm already in the perfect position!"

"Why are we even posing?" the mummy-wrapped one grumbled. "Let's just kill them already!"

"Because intimidation is key," the suited one huffed, flexing his tattooed arms. "You gotta set the stage before a fight. Everyone knows that."

Finally, they managed to form a somewhat synchronized stance, their ridiculous outfits making them look more like traveling circus rejects than warriors.

Then, in perfect unison, they pointed at Kaelis and the others.

"This Well Spring is ours!" the feathered-hat merchant declared.

"We found it first!" the golden-coat one added.

"And if you interfere," the bandaged one growled, "we'll eliminate you."

The suited merchant stroked his chin, suddenly thoughtful. "...Wait. Is it really okay to just kill a kitten?"

The other three turned to him.

"The boy and the crow harpie can die, no problem," he continued, waving a hand dismissively. "But the kitten? Feels a little wrong."

A long silence followed.

Then, Hael burst out laughing, her body shifting as she returned to her massive crow form, her wings flaring dramatically.

"Oh, Ness," she teased, her voice absolutely dripping with amusement. "They called you a kitten."

Ness’s ears twitched violently as his fur bristled. "Tch. Whatever.”

Hael cackled. "Aww, poor little kitten. Are you scared?"

The merchants, meanwhile, had completely let their guard down.

"Awwww!" they cooed, clasping their hands together. "Look at them bicker! Kitten talks to! That could fetch us a high price as well! He looks harmless. I’m thinking…200 gold?”

Ness scoffed, and tugged at Kaelis's leg with his tiny cat paw, “Hmph. I'm worth more than 200 gold.”

"Yeah, okay," the suited one declared. "We're definitely killing the boy and the crow now."

And with that, they attacked. And Kaelis was surprised they actually attacked.

In a blur, Ness shifted into his muscular humanoid form, his sleek feline features taking on a towering, powerful shape. He cracked his knuckles and grinned.

“OH FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!” One is the merchants screamed like a girl. “THAT’S NOT A KITTEN!”

"Alright, Hael," Ness drawled. "Bet I take these idiots down faster than you."

Hael flapped her wings, her emerald eyes gleaming. "Oh? A challenge? You're on." Then Hael looked over at Kaelis, saying, “Watch me defeat them for you, darling!”

What followed was less of a battle and more of a game.

The merchants came in swinging, slashing, and lunging—only for Ness and Hael to effortlessly dodge, parry, and counter with minimal effort.

One of the merchants lunged at Hael, only for her to lightly smack him with her wing, sending him spinning through the air like a ragdoll.

Ness caught him midair, grabbing him by the collar.

"Here, catch," Ness said lazily, flinging the man toward Hael.

Hael caught him with her talons, spun in place, and then tossed him right back.

The merchant shrieked.

The other three tried to swarm Ness, but he barely moved, dodging with annoying ease.

"Come on," Ness yawned. "You guys are too slow."

Hael, laughing the entire time, snatched another merchant and threw him into the sky.

Ness jumped, caught him, and spiked him into the ground like a ball.

The merchants were getting angrier by the second.

"Stop playing around and fight seriously!" one of them snapped.

Ness and Hael exchanged glances.

Then they burst out laughing.

Kaelis, meanwhile, just sat there, watching the whole thing with a blank expression.

"This is the dumbest fight I've ever seen," he muttered under his breath. “But these two….Ness and Hael, I like them. Even if Ness is a little smug, and Hael being a seductive shapeshifting crow, they don’t annoy me. And they seem like they can hold their own.”

But then, one of the merchants—the one with the golden coat—managed to slip away from the chaos.

And he came straight for Kaelis.

His dagger gleamed with a sickly green glow—poison.

Kaelis felt a murderous aura from the merchant, and he barely had time to react before the blade sliced toward his throat.

He dodged. But the second he moved—

—He was behind the merchant.

The merchant froze, his body locking up.

‘This feeling…it’s like it’s clawing at my soul! What is this damn kid?!’ The merchant thought.

The moment the merchant turned and met Kaelis’s gaze—

His dagger slipped from his fingers. His breath hitched; Pure, instinctive fear took over his body.

But before Kaelis could do anything—

Something wrapped around him.

Ness’s tail coiled around Kaelis’s torso, pulling him back. The moment the contact broke, Kaelis’s vision snapped back to normal, his heartbeat slammed against his ribs.

“Shit,” Kaelis cursed.

He had almost lost himself again.

As Ness released him, Kaelis clenched his fists, trying to steady his breathing.

‘Real conflict triggers it! That means that merchant was actually aiming to end me right then and there..?’

That was the realization that settled in his mind.

Fighting—real fighting, not banter or play—pushed him toward that berserk state.

‘I’m a loose cannon…’

The merchants were panting, bruised, and thoroughly humiliated.

Ness cracked his knuckles, Hael ruffled her feathers, and Kaelis just stood there, watching them with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, gentlemen," Hael chirped, "it's been fun, but I think it's time for you to—how do I put this nicely—get the hell out."

Ness added, “There's a reason we’re not letting you down to the Well Spring. So beat it, weirdos.”

The feathered-hat merchant groaned from where he was slumped against a rock. "We—we could still—"

Ness, back in his small cat form, patted over to the merchant, and smacked him with his paw fast, left to right, left to right.

"Ow! Okay, okay, we're leaving!"

The golden-coat merchant scrambled to his feet, dragging his dazed companion with him. "You guys are insane!"

The bandaged merchant wiped blood from his nose, glaring. "This isn’t over! You’ll regret—"

Before he could finish, Hael flared her massive wings and let out a thunderous, ear-piercing caw that sent the merchants screaming in terror, stumbling over each other as they ran for their lives.

Kaelis watched them trip, crash into each other, and disappear into the distance.

"Pathetically entertaining," Hael corrected, shaking out her feathers.

Ness smirked. "Money hungry idiots like that deserve it."

Kaelis exhaled. "So, merchants. What’s their deal here?"

Ness glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

Kaelis shrugged. "Back on Earth, merchants are just people who sell stuff. But those guys acted more like scavengers. Is that normal?"

Ness folded his arms, considering it. "Depends on the kind of merchant."

Hael flopped onto a rock, stretching her wings. "There’s more to it than just selling stuff here. Merchants in Kalhalla are… complicated."

Kaelis raised an eyebrow. "Complicated how?"

Ness leaned against a broken pillar. "There are different types. Some are wanderers, like those guys—opportunists who travel from place to place, selling whatever they can get their hands on. They don’t stick to one kingdom, don’t take sides. They just follow the flow of supply and demand."

Hael smirked. "And they’ll sell to anyone. Rulers, criminals, mercenaries, warlords… long as you’ve got something valuable to trade, they don’t care who you are."

Kaelis frowned. "So they don’t have loyalty to anyone?"

Ness shook his head. "Some do, but not wanderers. Stationed merchants are different. They belong to guilds or kingdoms. Some even work directly for nobles or warlords. They handle things like trade routes, rare artifacts, black market deals—"

Kaelis cut in. "Wait. Black market?"

Hael grinned. "Oh, yeah. It’s huge. Illegal enchantments, cursed weapons, stolen Kenda relics… if it exists, someone’s selling it."

Kaelis took that in, his mind already turning over the information.

Merchants weren’t just sellers here. They were power brokers. Some were neutral wanderers, some were deeply tied to politics, and some dealt in forbidden goods.

‘Good to know.‘

Every bit of knowledge counted. If he wanted a chance at getting back home, he had to learn everything he could.

"Can anyone be a merchant?" he asked.

Ness tilted his head. "Technically, yeah. But it’s dangerous work. You have to know how to trade, how to negotiate, and how to protect yourself. Otherwise, you’ll get eaten alive—literally, in some places."

Kaelis exhaled, filing it away in his mind.

"So, what you’re saying is…" he muttered, "merchants are either businessmen, criminals, or lunatics."

Hael grinned. "Exactly."

After making sure no other money-hungry scavengers were lurking nearby, they all agreed—this was the perfect camp spot. It was open but had enough cover. The ruins provided natural walls, and the Well Spring—now unclaimed—was a rare find. If Espen ever needed a safe place to rest, this would be it.

Ness stretched. "Alright, we’ve seen enough. Time to head back."

Kaelis nodded and turned, walking ahead as the group made their way back toward Espen.

As soon as he was a few steps ahead, Ness and Hael slowed their pace, their playful demeanor fading.

"You saw it, too," Ness murmured.

Hael’s feathers ruffled slightly. "Yeah."

His berserk state.

The way his eyes had glowed red, the way he had moved unnaturally fast, the way the merchant had frozen in fear before Ness had snapped him out of it.

"It triggers in combat," Ness said. "It’s not random. It’s tied to violence. I mean, that’s pretty obvious because it was like that against the White Brigade. He was a menace, terrifying even. It’s weird though..”

“What is?”

“He didn’t go into his berserk state when he was almost dying, when he was attacked. But when Espen was about to die..”

Hael’s expression darkened slightly. "If it’s connected to conflict, that means the more he fights seriously, the worse it’s gonna get. I CAN’T LET MY DARLING BE CONSUMED BY WHATEVER! NOT BEFORE ME!”

Ness exhaled. "We need to be careful. Though I’m pretty sure he’s figured it out by now.”

“He just needs to harness that power of his, huh?”

“Yeah. He’s probably figured that out also. He’s always deep in thought.”

‘Like me..’

The air was thick with the scent of ancient magic, the Well Spring’s crimson waters pulsing steadily in the quiet night. Espen leaned lazily against the jagged rocks lining the pool, eyes half-lidded, completely immersed in the warmth of the goddess’s blood. The tension in her body had all but melted away, leaving only a rare, fleeting sense of peace.

Then, a voice shattered the silence—casual, smug, and thoroughly irritating.

"Oi, witch. You done soaking in there, or are you trying to become one with the goddess’s blood?"

Espen cracked one eye open, her expression unreadable, watching as Kaelis strolled up to the edge of the spring with his arms crossed. He had that look again—like he owned the place.

She exhaled slowly, the warmth of the spring making her voice softer than usual. "Patience, Kaelis. You should learn it sometime."

Kaelis blinked, slightly caught off guard. That was… unexpectedly nice. No sharp retort, no threats, no insults laced with venom. Just calm, almost serene words. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You good? Did the blood make you sick or something?"

Espen smirked faintly, stretching her arms above her head, utterly relaxed in a way she rarely ever was. "No. Just… taking my time. Something you clearly struggle with. And I already told you before, the goddess's healing blood eases the mind. I’d stay in forever if I could.”

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night. Now hurry up and hop out, it’s my turn."

Espen sighed, shaking her head with an amused hum. "Fine." She stood slowly, her movements fluid and deliberate, the warm blood cascading off her skin in shimmering rivulets. "Just wait until I—"

A crackle. A flicker.

Kaelis’s brows furrowed. "Uh… what’s up with your—"

Before he could finish, the shadowy wall Espen had conjured wavered violently, flickering like a candle in the wind. Her control slipped.

“Fuck!” Espen exclaimed.

And then—

The darkness collapsed.

Espen froze.

Kaelis blinked.

Silence.

Pure, unbroken silence.

Espen was standing—completely bare naked, the goddess’s blood still trailing down her body in slow, shimmering streaks. But her hands were already moving, frantically covering herself, her face burning red with sheer, unfiltered mortification.

Kaelis, meanwhile, didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Didn't even blink.

Not because he hadn’t seen a naked woman before—he had. But this was Espen. Espen, who would sooner kill a man than let him see her vulnerable. Espen, who was currently looking at him like she was deciding whether to scream or rip his throat out.

His mind short-circuited. Was he about to die?!

Slowly, stiffly, Kaelis turned his head away, lifting his hands as if to ward off the impending execution. "I-I didn't see anything!”

A dangerous aura crackled behind him.

"Oh, really?" Espen’s voice was eerily calm, but Kaelis could practically feel the murderous intent radiating off of her.

A dense, suffocating energy surged in the air as dark Kenda flared violently in Espen’s left palm, forming into a swirling mass of unstable magic. Her red eyes burned with pure, unrelenting fury.

"Any human that sees my bare body… should face death." Her voice was low, lethal. "And you—"

Kaelis tensed.

"—must take it like a man. Die with honor!”

"Oh, hell no." Kaelis whirled around, hands raised in protest. "Wait, wait, WAIT! Let’s talk about this!"

Espen wasn’t listening.

She thrust her hand forward, the dark Kenda crackling violently—but then Kaelis saw it.

The energy was unstable. Just like it was against the White Brigade.

Sparks of wild, uncontrolled magic snapped erratically around her fingers, the force trembling unnaturally. She was going to lose control.

Kaelis barely had time to think.

He moved.

In an instant, he lunged, grabbing her wrist just as the energy flared wildly. "Damn woman! You're gonna hurt yourself again!"

Espen gasped softly. Not because of the words—but because of the way he said them. There was no mockery, no smugness. Just genuine concern.

‘Why…?’

Then—

The unstable energy surged into the sky as Kaelis, still holding Espen’s wrist, aimed it high up. For a brief, weightless moment, the world seemed to tilt.

And then—

They fell.

The blood embraced them both, warm and thick like liquid silk, pulling them deeper, deeper beneath the surface.

Time slowed. The goddesses healing abyss swallowed the world above, leaving only the two of them, sinking together in silence. Espen’s breath hitched as their eyes locked, the dark liquid distorting everything except the sharp intensity of Kaelis’s gaze. His grip on her wrist was firm, unwavering. The Well Spring pulsed softly around them, the remnants of a goddess’s blood cradling them in a surreal, weightless descent.

Neither spoke.

Neither moved.

They simply just fell.